National Football League

Manningham: 'I didn't say that'

Published Feb. 28, 2012 12:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Wide receiver Mario Manningham denied Tuesday saying that there is a 75 percent chance he would leave the Giants in free agency.

"I didn't say that," Manningham said on WFAN Tuesday morning. "You know how rumors get spread, I didn't say anything like that."

The original quote was reported last week by Manningham's hometown paper, the Youngstown News.

But the Super Bowl XLVI hero has now increased the odds of staying with the Giants.

"It's a 50-50 percent chance, we're not sure what's going on right now," he said. "We're just gonna take it slow and see what's going on, let the smoke clear a little bit. Just never know where I'm gonna end up at."

Preliminary talks did not lead to anything close to a contract agreement and Manningham will become an unrestricted free agent March 13. He said he wants to remain with the team that made him a third-round pick in 2008.

Asked if he would accept less money to stay, the 25-year-old said "I'm not sure yet. I have to see what's going on with the rest of the receivers."

The Giants are expected to give a hefty raise to breakout star Victor Cruz, who supplanted Manningham as the starter alongside Hakeem Nicks in 2011.

Cruz turned into one of the NFL's brightest young stars with a team-high 82 catches for a franchise-record 1,536 yards and nine touchdowns.

Manningham, bothered by a nagging knee injury, had a down regular season (39 catches for 523 yards and four touchdowns) before coming alive in the postseason. His 38-yard catch was the key play on the Giants' Super Bowl-winning drive, and he had touchdown catches in each of the previous three playoff wins.